I get a lot of complaints about bosses. Many times they don't do their jobs well: they don't set priorities, they are vague on assignments, they don't do performance reviews, or they don't provide useful feedback. Some of them vanish in the middle of the day or have a travel schedule so heavy that you wonder if they are secretly Star Wars crew members.

What to do with such a boss? You can't just sit back and wait for your boss to be transformed, you have to learn the art of managing up.

This pithy article has useful tips and great references to start you on your way to learning how to manage up.

What Should You Do?

Ideally, you should start this process from your first day at a new job, making sure that you understand your boss's expectations and standards. However, if you missed that conversation, initiate one now.

You should also make sure that you have a clear understanding of how you will communicate with your boss throughout the year. Your boss may not initiate the kind of feedback loop that you need and deserve, but there's no reason you can't ask for regular one-on-ones to ensure you receive performance feedback on your work.

Keep your boss informed about what you are working on. Don't assume that your boss knows. She may be too busy to keep track and she will appreciate you keeping her up to speed. Let her know what you are prioritizing on that list and make sure that it's the same thing that she thinks you should have at the top of your stack.

Make sure that you create an honest dialogue with her, letting her know that you want to understand what's working and what's not working for her so that performance reviews are not a surprise.

Did You Know?

We conduct workshops for both employees and managers to make sure they know how to manage performance throughout the year, in addition to how to handle performance reviews.